Twenty-two years after the Kalashnikovs shut it down, Kashmir?s Nagin Valley has reopened, its misty meadows waiting for long-lost visitors. At the Gulmarg gondola station, the queue stretches for nearly a kilometre, and every cable car seat is booked. The ice has thawed in Sringar?s Dal Lake, bright yellow shikaras gliding gently on its placid waters. With every room in the 11-month-old hotel booked and occupied, room service has slowed down. The shadow of the gun has lifted and tourists are back. Peace shines on Kashmir, and the valley is in bloom.
There are times we feel lucky. Landing in Srinagar and being told of the ongoing tulip festival?a brief, fortnightly affair every year?was one of them. At the Tulip Garden below the Zabarwan Hills, infinite rows of flower beds erupt in a riot of colours in early April. The garden was opened in 2007 and quickly became a tourist magnet, with thousands arriving every day of the tulip festival.
A few kilometres away, overlooking the Dal Lake, is the 400-year old Shalimar Bagh, built by Mughal emperor Jahangir. Across the centuries, there has been numerous additions and renovations to it, but Shalimar is fresh as ever. The one-time royal garden is now a public park, easily accessible from the Foreshore Road, which runs along the Dal Lake. Stroll along its numerous walkways by the canals and fountains, relax on its vast greens and take a nap beneath the big, ancient trees.
Srinagar must have been designed by a gardener. Or at least, someone with a very green thumb. Though Shalimar is clearly its most famous, Srinagar is a land of gardens. Nishat Garden is barely three minutes away by taxi, while Chashma Shahi Garden and Botanical Garden lie a few kilometres away. When we visited, parts of Nishat Garden were under renovation?the marble canals being repaired?with construction material and rubble strewn around, but we?re sure the garden will be at its verdant best once work is completed. The Chashma Shahi Garden is smaller, but no less beautiful. Botanical Garden nudges the Tulip Garden, and there is a mini-lake with pedal boats you can take to a tiny island in its centre.
Fifty-five kilometres from Srinagar, high up in the Pir Panjal mountain range nestles Gulmarg, the meadow of flowers. From Tangmarg, it is a 15-km uphill drive, offering occasional glimpses of the valley below. Snow covers Gulmarg?s bowl-shaped expanses in winter, making it a popular ski spot. When ice melts and grass grows, shepherds return and the valley morphs into a festival of flowers.
At Tangmarg, you can rent snow boots and heavy jackets for the day, and there are travel guides to help you along. From the base of Gulmarg, cable cars take you up to the ski spots. It costs R300 for an up-down trip on the ropeway. Book your tickets online (we discovered the website only much later) and use the time saved to enjoy the tranquility and spectacular views at 8,800 feet. Besides the gondola, claimed to be the world?s highest, Gulmarg also hosts the world?s highest green golf course.
Ten kilometres away, close to the Line of Control, lies the Nagin Valley, the place the world forgot when cross-border militancy forced the Army to close it down in 1990. A fortnight back, the government reopened it as an eco-tourism destination, shutting the door on an inglorious past. Barely five kilometres from this unspoilt valley of fog, flowers and frequent showers stands the electrified and heavily-mined border fence, built to check terrorist infiltration.
We had also scheduled a trip to Pahalgam, 95 km from Srinagar, but had to scrap it after a minor accident on Gulmarg?s skiing slopes. Leave a day aside if you wish to visit this beautiful hill station, which is also associated with Amarnath yatra. Instead, we did a quick dash to the Dachigam National Park, which lies 22 km from Srinagar and the historical Hazratbal shrine, before finally topping it off with a shikara ride on the Dal Lake.
Peace has returned, and so have tourists. The day we left Srinagar, Greater Kashmir carried reports of para-military forces removing several bunkers in the city. Over a million tourists visited Kashmir last year, and this year, the government expects two million. Handicraft workshops are buzzing, hotels are fully booked and the vendors, drivers, boatmen and guides are relieved and delighted. And they all are politely inquisitive: ?What do they say about Kashmir in the rest of India? And what do you think now that you’re here??
The young man running a handicraft emporium feels paramilitary forces should stay, since they keep peace and is good for business. ?I’m getting married this year,? he beams. The bride: A Jewish girl from Kerala, a management graduate who fell in love with him when she came picnicking with her family over a year ago. The two families are now discussing the nitty-gritty?there will be one wedding in Kerala as per Jewish rites and one in Srinagar as per Islamic rites. It?s love in Kashmir. Nothing could better describe what you feel as the plane takes off for Delhi.